# API Documentation

The API documentation is a work in progress.

## Built-in API browser interface

ARA ships with a helpful interface to navigate the API directly from your favorite web browser.

For example, if you run `ara-manage runserver`, this interface would be available at `http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/v1/`:

You can navigate the interface and drill down to list views, for example:

You can also see what a detailed view looks like by querying a specific object id:

Alternatively, you may also find an up-to-date live demonstration of the API at `https://demo.recordsansible.org`.

## Relationship between objects

Here’s a high level overview of how data is generally organized:

    Label   Record (ara_record)              LatestHost
        \   /                                 /
      Playbook -> Play -> Task -> Result <- Host
              \          /          |        |
               \        /        Content   Facts
                \ File /
                   |
                Content

- Every object except labels and LatestHost are associated to a parent playbook

- Labels are applied on a playbook while a LatestHost references a specific Host

- Records have a key, a value and a type provided by ara_record

- In a playbook there are plays

- In a play there are tasks

- In a task there are results

- Results have a relation to their parent task and the host the task ran on

- Results have content with data returned by Ansible for a task on a host

- Hosts have stats provided by Ansible and facts (if they have been set or gathered)

- A LatestHost relation keeps track of the last playbook a host name was involved in

- Playbooks and Tasks both have a path and a reference to a File

- A file has content compressed and uniquely stored, hashed by sha1

These relationships are also represented in the database model:

Tip

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Additional fields may only be available in the detailed views. For example:

- Playbooks arguments with `/api/v1/playbooks/<id>`

- Hosts facts with `/api/v1/hosts/<id>` or `/api/v1/latesthosts`

- Results content with `/api/v1/results/<id>`

- Files content with `/api/v1/files/<id>`

ARA ships with two built-in API clients to help you get started. You can learn more about those clients in Using ARA API clients.